Related topics: cells

Bionanomachines: Proteins as resistance fighters

(PhysOrg.com) -- Friction limits the speed and efficiency of macroscopic engines. Is this also true for nanomachines? A Dresden research team used laser tweezers to measure the friction between a single motor protein molecule ...

Slicing chromosomes leads to new insights into cell division

(PhysOrg.com) -- By using ultrafast laser pulses to slice off pieces of chromosomes and observe how the chromosomes behave, biomedical engineers at the University of Michigan have gained pivotal insights into mitosis, the ...

Chemists create bipedal, autonomous DNA walker

Chemists at New York University and Harvard University have created a bipedal, autonomous DNA "walker" that can mimic a cell's transportation system. The device, which marks a step toward more complex synthetic molecular ...

New molecular force probe stretches molecules, atom by atom

Chemists at the University of Illinois have created a simple and inexpensive molecular technique that replaces an expensive atomic force microscope for studying what happens to small molecules when they are stretched or compressed.

Lipid droplets lead a Spartin existence

Spartin, a protein linked to the neuronal disease Troyer syndrome, was thought to function in endocytosis. In the March 23, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Eastman et al. identify an unexpected role for Spartin ...

Motor proteins may be vehicles for drug delivery

Specialized motor proteins that transport cargo within cells could be turned into nanoscale machines for drug delivery, according to bioengineers. Chemical alteration of the proteins' function could also help inhibit the ...

Researchers shake up scientific theory on motor protein

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of scientists led by the University of Leeds has shed new light on the little-understood motor protein called dynein, thought to be involved in progressive neurological disorders such ...

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